While the techniques used in high jumping have changed over the years, from a straight forward approach to the more notable and now widely used Fosbery Flop, one problem that has continually confronted high jumpers is where to begin your run toward the bar. It is well known that a practiced jumper will have developed a particular approach style based upon this running speed, the length of his stride, the number of steps used to get to the bar, and from what angle he will approach the jump. These conditions also require that a particular starting point be determined each time a jumper begins jumping.
Up to now, the way high jumpers had to determine that starting point involved a fairly complicated procedure. Starting at either the right or left standard, depending on the side from which the jumper would approach the bar, a jumper would measure a line extending parallel to the cross bar a predetermined distance outwardly away from the standard. The measurement would then turn a ninety degree angle toward the front of the jump area and go out a predetermined number of feet to another point with the distance being learned by each jumper through his practice and experience in jumping. From that point, the jumper would then measure back to the standard thereby forming a triangle with the hypotenuse hopefully being of a particular length. If it was, the outer corner of the triangle away from the standard would determine the starting point for that jumper with respect to that jump. In many instances, an extremmely long tape measure would be used the jumper having pre-marked the tape at various points that would define the corners of his triangle. For any particular jumper, this process could take a number of minutes and if a number of jumpers were trying to accomplish their measurements at the same time, one can imagine the amount of confusion or problems that could develop.
While I am not aware of any patents or devices that can accomplish this, I am aware of the following U.S. patents: Teter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,781; Buckelew, U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,914 and Mallow, U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,925.
Teter relates to a device for laying out a baseball diamond. The device includes a flat plate on which three fixed position tape measures have been placed at predetermined angles. The two outer tapes are used to determine the location of first and third bases whereas the center tape can indicate the location of second base and the pitching mound.
Buckelew refers to a carpenter layout device for laying out the centers of studs and employs a perforated tape used to stop movement of the device at particular spots and a straight edge against which a line can be drawn representing the center of studs.
Mallow refers to a device for properly positioning lights used in photography relative to a subject and includes both horizontally and vertically disposed angular scales. The vertical scale can be rotated through a vertical plane and is used to determine the angle of lights along that vertical plane and includes an integrally mounted tape for positioning the lights at a selected distance. The horizontal scale is also moveable and is used to position lights about the subject in order to provide the type of illumination desired.
None of these, however, relate to the particular problem faced by high jumpers in determining their starting position with respect to a high jump pit.